Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
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Free Music Notes for Sky Blue Sky
Free Music Review: Wilco does it again
Hit: 5 Stars
Sky Blue Sky released another album which is a left turn from the noise of YHF and AGIB. This album is more relaxed and focuses on the song. It is more introspective and personal than the last two albums.
The song Sky Blue Sky is written from Tweedy's perspective when he was living in Belville Illinois (he explains this on the dvd on the extended version).
Please be patient with me is written for Tweedy's wife.
Impossible Germany and Side with the seeds has incredible guitar solos.
My favorite song is Walkin.
This album is more consistent in overall style and content than A ghost is born. That album was all over the Map.
I have read reviews from Rolling Stone, This site , and others and some indicate that Sky Blue Sky is dull or retreats to their AM/Being there days. Some have said that this doesn't sound like Wilco. I say: Bull.
Here is my personal opinion on what the Wilco Sound is:
1. Each Album is distinct
AM was Tweedy's answer to Son Volt's (Jay Farrars band) Trace.
He wanted to let everybody know that he was still alive outside of Uncle Tupelo. This is Wilco's Plastic Ono Band album (John Lennon released POB after McCartney sued to dissolve the Beatles).
Being There was Wilco's way of expanding their sound and trying to rid themselves of the alternative country label (This was a double album in much the same way that the Clash released London Calling to shed themselves of the punk label).
Summerteeth is more popish but more melancholy lyrics. Wilco's first materpiece?
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is one of the best albums released in the last 5 years. It is cohesive and noisy but underneith the noise are some great songs. A great headphone album in the tradition of Dark side of the moon(notice that I did not say Radiohead).
A Ghost is born is all over the map. There are beatlesque songs (I'm a wheel and Hummingbird would not sound out of place on the White Album). It has a noise college (in the spirit of Reveolution 9).
I'm not sure what album Sky Blue Sky is but it is a definite Wilco masterpiece.
2.Wilco is a group of professionals. They know their instruments and their limitations and often hire individuals with talent to augment the group.
Right when they recorded AM, they hired professional sessionmen from Nashville. Lloyd Maines (father and manager of Dixie Chicks Natalie Maines) recorded several tracks for that album. They hired Jay Bennett for his expertise as an instrumentalist (until he fought with Tweedy).
They hired Glenn Kotche for his percussion (vital to the sound of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot) and they hired Nels Kline (a guitarist known in the jazz field). If you attend a Wilco concert, you will hear the professionalism.
They just don't sing the song from the album, they recreate the sound live (and often sounds better). Even when the sound is chaos, it is controlled chaos.
3. Loud and soft dynamics. This album is known for being softer but if you listen to side with the seeds,you are my face and impossible germany, the sound takes off and what was once a mellow song goes to parts unknown. In concert, they make best use of starting very softly and getting louder and louder. Their first three albums don't have much of this except for Misunderstood on Being there, the template for this Wilco trademark.
4.Clear and polished sound- Not so much with AM and being there but with Summerteeth and forward, the sound is polished. It sounds very clear and the instruments are identifiable.
5. Jeff Tweedy's vocals- His lyrics may change from album to album but his voice is a constant. Some may call it a whine while others may call it an honest voice clear of fakery or tricks.
Sky Blue Sky may take a few listens to appreciate. Take the time and do not rush to judgement. If your looking for instant hooks and enjoyment, move on.
Free Music Review: Please be patient with this record
Hit: 5 Stars
Wilco
Sky Blue Sky
2007; Nonesuch Records
My Rating: 10/10
Have you ever bought a record that you listen to once, scratch your head, but back on the shelf for a year, pull out again, and listen to non-stop for the next year? When I first bought SKY BLUE SKY upon its release in 2007, I was immediately disappointed. Sure, A GHOST IS BORN wasn't great, but there was enough to like about it and I could respect a dip in inspiration following on the heels of the glorious YANKEE HOTEL FOXTROT. But by the time SKY BLUE SKY rolled out in 2007, I was ready for WILCO to find their footing and deliver another left-field masterpiece. Instead I discovered what I thought at the time was a band on cruise control.
The thing is, you won't find anything strikingly revolutionary on SKY BLUE SKY, but that may in fact be the most wonderful thing about this record. It took me selling my copy of this record and then re-buying it to discover that SKY BLUE SKY is in my Wilco Top 3, and when all is said and done, may be right on top. SKY BLUE SKY is the sound of a band arriving. The lineup TWEEDY employs on this record came together shortly after the release of A GHOST IS BORN, and has been with him since. With SKY BLUE SKY, Tweedy makes the boldest statement of his career: "My songs and this band are so strong that I don't need anything to make a great record but a few microphones and a room big enough for the six of us."
From the opening, there is something sweet and pastoral about this record. The interplay between Tweedy's songs and the rest of the band is effortless. Opening with the softly swaying "Either Way", the band quickly finds the zone with "You Are My Face" and never lets up. "Impossible Germany" is one of the album's highlights, featuring the best three-guitar interplay of any Wilco record and some of the best I've ever heard anywhere. The title track keeps things soft and dreamlike, while "Side with the Seeds" is another album highlight. Thought I hesitate to say it, "Shake It Off" might be the album's low point, although even it feels integral to the record's progression.
The album's second half features another handful of soft, dreamy tunes in "Please Be Patient With Me," "Leave Me," and closer "On and On and On." "What Light" is as sunny and optimistic a song as you're likely to hear from Tweedy, while "Walken" and "Hate It Here" lend a little more drama to the album's second half.
All in all, it's understandable why many people walked from SKY BLUE SKY after its initial release, but in my view there is no other record so deserving of a second chance. I love this record, and given enough time, so will you.
Free Music Review: Wilco Does It Again
Hit: 5 Stars
First things first. If this album came out 35 years ago, it would be regarded as one of the greatest ever recorded in rock n' roll history. I say that with a straight face. This fact probably frustrates those looking for more of the "experimental" work of YHF and AGIB. That is what is great about this band, and why, in my opinion, and as a person who listens to a lot of different music from a lot of different decades, Wilco is the greatest band to ever make recorded music. Narrow-minded? Sure, but that is just my opinion, and I'm sticking with it. Let's go track-by-track. Also, splurge for the deluxe edition. A real bargain.
Either Way - Sure it sounds a lot like "In My Life". So what? It's a perfect pop song.
You Are My Face - What the hell does that even mean? Who cares? Great chords, great vocals, great lyrics, great tempo changes, great.
Impossible Germany - More silly lyrics, but also, some of the best guitar work you'll ever hear.
Sky Blue Sky - Watch the DVD that comes with the deluxe edition, and it all makes sense. Great twangy guitars, a nice country-tinged number.
Side With The Seeds - Sounds like prime Grateful Dead to me. But better. More blistering guitar for those who pegged this album as soft.
Shake It Off - Another nod to The Dead. And again, better.
Please Be Patient With Me - Gotta have a sappy love song in there, no?
Hate It Here - My favorite track on the record. It's like 3 Dog Night, Steely Dan, and Rod Stewart's Faces got together and put their all into making a great mid-tempo number with incredible keys, and kitchy lyrics.
Leave Me (Like You Found Me) - A nice acoustic number. Nothing to get excited about, but, as usual, well-crafted.
Walken - Something Van Morrison may have done if he had an incredibly talented guitar player at his disposal.
What Light - A straight up Dylan rip-off. Don't forget this is a man (Tweedy) who makes it no secret he wishes he was him (Bob Dylan's 49th Beard). A perfectly executed rip-off.
On And On And On - Written for his father after his mother died, and a little hint of the soundscape type music from YHF and AGIB. A hint of a return on the next album, or a swan song?
Yes, I love this band unabashedly. No shame here. Go see them live if you never have. They'll blow your mind.
Free Music Review: U.T. Fans--Get over it
Hit: 5 Stars
My husband loves Jay Farrar. I love Jeff Tweedy. I introduced him to Uncle Tupelo in 1992 and he became a true believer, as we all were at the time. Yet he, as well as many, many hard-core alt-country fans, remains unwilling to understand the process of change and the need to challenge oneself musically. Screw the fans with ego. Sometimes that's O.K.
I admit, I've had a hard time with some of my other favorite bands' evolution from their early works to what they've now become (e.g. R.E.M.), but somehow, Wilco's growth has not bothered me one bit. Maybe because I see the importance of following what you believe in as an artist (and maybe because now I'm over 40). Maybe I just have empathy for what Jeff Tweedy has gone through in the last 20 years.
Sky Blue Sky doesn't sound like what people may think Wilco SHOULD sound like, but really, what SHOULD Wilco sound like? The point is, Tweedy follows his calling, and it's not always what's expected. This new album has more elements of his earlier works--the U.T. roots stuff--than any of the band's more recent efforts, from "Summerteeth" on. Tracks like the title "Sky Blue Sky," "Please Be Patient with Me," and "What Light" are so reminiscent of Uncle Tupelo, it makes my heart weep. What more do you want?
Personally, "A Ghost is Born" is one of my favorite Wilco albums, because of its noisy, disturbing guitar solos (just the fact that Tweedy, who's NOT a lead guitarist, played lead on that album is enough for me). That album, the precurser to his time in drug rehab, has a disjointedness and a pleading cry to it that is hard to ignore. Yet, the more refined sound on "Sky Blue Sky" (thanks mainly to Nels Cline joining as lead guitarist) should not be dismissed as just another one of Tweedy's "moods." This album has merit--forget all the references to the blankety-blank Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan and all the other 70's crap America can't seem to get enough of or get over. Listen up and hear what Tweedy and the band are trying to say. Long live 'em, I say. Tweedy turns 40 soon; give him the credit he deserves. Not many in his shoes and with his upstart background in the music scene could even come close to his talent. Keep up the good work Wilco, it's well worth the listen...and listen, and listen, and listen.
Free Music Review: Wilco, says enough with the avante garde, here's what we do
Hit: 5 Stars
Wilco, probably deserve to be the most talked about band of all contemporary bands. Derived from a Genre creating band in Uncle Tupelo (How do the Jayhawks feel about that?)the leader, Jeff Tweedy, being the other guy in the band who, when left, alone, lost and disillusioned, outgrew his former bandmate and didn't stop until he'd nearly explored everything in terms of avant garde music, illness, breakups, narcotics and especially greatness.
Wilco's first two albums were Alt Country masterpieces, then came Summerteeth, less alt country , more Avant Garde Pop brilliance until they/Tweedy, went the full whole hog with Yankee Hotel and a Ghost is Born in terms of exploration, utilisation of the best free style instrumentatlists, Nils Cline and Glen Kotche and just plain out there stuff. I love Spiders (Kidsmoke) its an all time classic but ain't Alt Country in any shape or form.
So here comes Sky Blue Sky and its like Jeff said no!, we'll do an album that is lovely, accessible and beautiful. Its almost like Jeff suddenly reached maturity and came up with the goods. The opening track is lovely Jayhawks/Byrds like jingle jangle with expressive Tweedy lyrics and on, it goes, no ego's just band created mellow crafted tunes.
Track 3 " Impossible Germany" grabs you with its tunefulness and melodics not to mention the absolutely amazing guitar by Nels Cline. The elongated guitars augmented by astonishing percussion and the support guitars of Pat Sansone are brilliant. I have no idea what the lyrics mean, i'm guessing its something to do with the 2nd World War, or aftermatch of, but its the music that kills ya on this track. Followed up with "Sky Blue Sky" & "Side with the Seeds" absolute gems. Further on the Beatles, Dylan and all other influences are trialled, and on at least three tracks towards the end (On & On & On)it could be JL singing.
My gut feel is that if this had followed Being There and the band had expanded into Ghosts and Yankee from there, everyone would have been happy, but for me this is their best album, gutsy, relevant and brilliant.
This is the first of a triumvirate of Alt Country Artist's, who have delivered masterpieces in 07/08, (Wilco, Ryan Adams, Gary Louris)hopefully bringing them all, the attention they deserve.